By Susie Busby
The first is, be a reader. You must enjoy reading, as reading will help you with your writing.
Read a wide variety of work. Include both non-fiction and fiction in your reading list so you get a feel of how the styles differ. Include newspapers, magazines, blogs and factual books as well as short stories and novels.
Try different authors. It’s tempting to read just your favourites. But challenge yourself to read authors that are new to you. Or try the classics. Even if you hated them at school they are always worth re-visiting after a few years to see if you’ve changed your mind.
But don’t just read for the sake of it. Make sure what you are reading is interesting to you or captures your imagination. If it bores you, analyse it to see why you find it boring, learn from your analysis for your own writing then move on to something else. Life’s too short to get stuck struggling through something you hate.
Secondly, to be a writer you need to write. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t put words together then you can’t call yourself a writer.
When not writing, writers will be thinking about what they are working on or will be looking out for ideas and tit bits they can use.
These days it’s easy to write where and when you find time – even on the move. Carry a note pad and pen around if you like, but most smart phones and tablets have a ‘notepad’ on them. You can then email your notes to yourself which is a great time-saver if you’ve done the first draft of a piece.
If you'd like to be a writer check out our home-study Creative Writing Course.
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